The Belgian international was considered to be ‘the next Didier Drogba’ when he arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2011 due to his physical presence and goal scoring ability. He has since then been loaned out to West Bromwich and is enjoying a fabulous return, scoring 13 goals in 27 Premier League appearances.
However, he would do well to focus on the rest of the campaign and help his current club to a top ten finish in the table. His father, Lukaku senior, was alleged to have assaulted his lover and after failing to appear in court, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
According to the Daily Mail, Lukaku senior missed his trial since he moved to another part of Brussels, but he hadn’t registered his new address, thus missing the summons.
His lawyer said, “My client was sentenced because he didn’t appear in court. He doesn’t belong in jail. His wife is suffering, but his sons, Romelu and Jordan, are doing everything to get their dad free as soon as possible.”
The case is set to go for another hearing since Lukaku lodged an objection to the 15 months imprisonment announced. The lawyer added, “Mr Lukaku has lodged an objection to the judgement and the case will be tried again in the coming days. To this day, we still do not know the date of the trial.”
This may be part of the reason why West Bromwich manager Steve Clarke opted to start the 19-year-old on the bench. He did come on for the last half an hour when they were 2-0 down, but missed a glorious chance to equalize, with West Bromwich eventually succumbing to a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal.
There have been many instances of footballers embroiled in controversy like Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Ryan Giggs amongst others. However, they have been able to put that behind them and deliver performances on the pitch.
Lukaku has been tipped for a bright future with the Champions League winners and if he wants to be as successful as Didier Drogba was for the Blues, he would need to put aside any controversy he is involved in, and concentrate on delivering on the pitch.